


So?

by Flightless_Bird



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Acceptance, But Sweet, Coming Out, Flirting, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Mild Angst, Mild Language, Near Love Confessions, Other, Pet Names, Venom is confused, and trying very hard, eddie is a mess, eddie is asexual, lots of sweetness, mild anxiety, mind sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 11:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18548458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flightless_Bird/pseuds/Flightless_Bird
Summary: “All of the sudden, it was too much. Kisses like that didn't have brakes. They meant other things followed. Anxiety doused him like cold water and before he knew it, Eddie was shoving away.“





	So?

**Author's Note:**

> There are lots of alien sex stories for these two and while I love them, I really wanted to explore an asexual Eddie story, because I thought it would be interesting haha   
> And Venom would be a total sweetheart no matter what.   
> I hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading! :3

Eddie Brock was an expert at avoiding things, and he had been avoiding this particular thing like the fucking plague.

In the weeks after the Life Foundation incident, his and Venom’s bond had grown. It was past the point of host and symbiote, past friends—they were one, they were closer than Eddie had ever been with anyone. There was just one complication surfacing from that: Venom wanted more. Eddie could tell. Venom’s words were more teasing, fond, their times outside of Eddie’s body longer, giving them more reason and opportunity totouch him. They even went out of their way for him sometimes, grabbing him things he couldn't reach and complimenting him more.

The upside: Eddie had such a huge fucking crush on them.

The downside? Eddie was asexual.

It hadn't been a problem with Anne, because he hadn't told Anne. He had grown up with the expectation that he would someday have to have sex, if only for his significant other. He'd loved her, he'd wanted to marry her; it hadn't been too much of a struggle for him to have sex, if it was what she wanted. It even got to the point that he'd initiated some of it. He'd been willing to give that part of himself for her, even if he didn't feel the same things and it left a vague itching somewhere under his skin. It hadn’t occurred to him that there was another option.

But he didn't want to do that again. Not with Venom. Now that Eddie knew he had a choice, Venom meant too much to be lied to. Which was why they shouldn't be together. They were decidedly _not_ Anne. They were an alien life form with an attitude and an appetite. Based on their time together, the purred words, the touches… Venom wanted things Eddie couldn't give. And Eddie didn't think what he'd had with Anne would be enough for them. He didn't think he'd be enough for them.

So, like any mature, sensible adult would do, he crushed his feelings down deep inside and weaseled his way out of every flirty situation like an idiotic teenager.

He was _so bad at it._

Once, they'd been sprawled out on the couch together, watching TV, Venom an inky blob atop Eddie’s chest.Something funny had happened and it made Eddie laugh. Purring with the sound, Venom had nosed under his chin and kissed his neck. It was small,and sweet as sugar, and Eddie nearly melted. But then Venom’s teeth grazed against his skin and then the slick heat of their tongue, and _nope nope nope_. Eddie had bolted off the couch with the pretense of making popcorn, almost throwing a very confused Venom off of him in the process.

Another time, he was in the damn shower and Venom _licked his ear_. He spluttered something about being late and practically fell out of the tub in his frantic attempt to get clothes on.

He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up without Venom questioning him. It was a miracle that he'd made it this far. He knew the day was coming when Venom was going to have enough with Eddie’s behavior and ask him what the hell was going on. He had no idea what he was going to say once that day arrived.

Which took him to today, and the incident that ended all other incidents.

He was finishing up a piece on the upcoming business he’d visited earlier that week, seated at the kitchen island with his laptop. It was always exciting to reach the end of a report, and a few days before his deadline too. He found a buzz lighting along his fingertips as he typed, half-smile tugging at his lips. The lightened mood was enough to bring Venom out, materializing from his shoulder as a shapeless blob. Blinking bright eyes at the laptop screen, they turned a broad grin on Eddie. _You are excited—your heart rate has increased and you are typing faster. What’s happening?_

“I’m finishing this son-of-a-bitch paper, that’s what’s happening,” Eddie answered, his smile widening.

_Three days before deadline._

“I know, right?”

Venom purred, bumping their little head against Eddie’s cheek. _We will celebrate with chocolate and our obnoxious neighbor._

Barking out a laugh, Eddie tilted into the contact. “I told you already, bad people only, okay?”

_Exactly_.

Eddie slanted him a smirk. “Bad boy.”

Venom’s giddy laughter shook through their bond and a flood of tingling warmth lit up Eddie’s chest. He reached up to cup Venom’s head against his own, fondness for them welling up and melting into his fingertips. He was very nearly done, pace slackened by him now only typing with one hand. But it didn’t take much longer to add the last few lines, what with this finish-line high and Venom’s silent encouragement. The moment it was done, he clicked the _save_ key, and threw his hands up.

“All right, chocolate it is!” he cheered. Then he yelped as the inky mass of Venom gave him a playful push in the shoulder and set his chair rocking.

_Extra dark!_ Venom added, fully forming their head to flash Eddie that razor grin. _With almonds!_

“Whatever you want, Vee!” Eddie was going to go bankrupt at this rate of chocolate-buying, but in this shining moment, he couldn’t seem to care.

Venom leaned in to press their forehead to Eddie’s, letting a rush of affection and pride sing through their minds. _You have done a good job, Eddie._

Venom wasn’t the most eloquent at times, but they knew what words meant to Eddie and the fact that they were willing to speak them like this was overwhelmingly endearing. The mingling of their warm emotions only made it better. Eddie’s want to just fall head over heels entirely for this being was overpowering. His smile softened and he scratched under Venom’s chin to watch their eyes squint shut happily. “You really make it hard on a guy when you say things like that,” he commented, as though it was an afterthought.

Venom blinked. _Make what hard?_

“Hard not to love you.” Venom knew he loved them in a platonic sense, after all, right? It didn’t matter if he slipped up like this.

Venom pressed in even closer, muzzle brushing Eddie’s nose. _You’re wonderful_ , they murmured simply. Their breath passed over Eddie’s mouth, and oh…

Eddie swallowed, smile going crooked. “Vee.”

Without speaking, Venom pushed a slow flood of emotion into Eddie’s consciousness, a shivery, knee-weakening thing. It felt like liquid heat, and Eddie’s breath hitched. “Baby,” he murmured, the endearment slipping out like nothing, and Venom’s mouth was on his.

It was not like their first kiss, when Venom had bonded with Anne. That had been hard, and adrenaline-desperate, and Eddie hadn't been sure where Anne ended and Venom began. This was nothing like that. It was slow-burning, and soft, Venom’s lips closed just enough over sharp teeth. Eddie knew he shouldn't, he hated to give false hope, but this was just a kiss, right? It was okay to take a little, just a little…

He cradled Venom’s jaw, and Venom made a tiny noise into his mouth. The tendrils connecting them solidified into bulky shoulders and chest, long talons holding Eddie by the shoulders. They were so _big_ , powerful, and he'd never felt so safe. He curled a hand around the back of Venom’s neck and the claws tightened in his shirtsleeves possessively. Venom parted their lips, tasted want on Eddie’s kiss, a sure sizzle of dopamine and oxytocin—they made a low, growling sound and Eddie felt a hot tongue brush against his.

All of the sudden, it was too much. Kisses like that didn't have brakes. They meant other things followed. Anxiety doused him like cold water and before he knew it, Eddie was shoving away. As soon as the chemicals fired and the emotions wracked his body, Venom retreated to its smaller form. They watched in eerie silence as he jumped from the chair to pace a couple steps, hands linking behind his head.

“Fuck,” Eddie muttered under his breath. God, he'd really screwed this up now. “‘M sorry, Vee. I don't know what… _fuck_.”

_You don't have to apologize, Eddie,_ Venom replied.

“Yes, I do.” Eddie slid a hand over his face, partly a dejected gesture and partly to hide his eyes from Venom. “I didn't wanna make you think… Dammit, I didn't want you to think I could do this.”

_Do what_?

“Be—with you, like that.”

_But Eddie_. Venom swirled around up to Eddie’s face, searching his expression in puzzlement. _You want it, don't you?To be with us._

Eddie looked at them with resignation heavy in grey-blue eyes. “You feel that?”

Venom nodded.

Eddie’s heart tightened in his chest. “Does it hurt?” he asked quietly.

_It feels good,_ Venom told him, taking him by surprise. Their form glitched at the edges, as though they were shivering. _It is better than chocolate, the things we feel when you think of us like that. Like an adrenaline high._

Eddie remembered the singing of their bond when Venom had sent those feelings to him and he had to suppress a shudder. Yes, he new exactly what Venom meant.

Venom went on gloomily, _we are only sad when we don't know why you push us away. Is it us? It is because we are…not human?_

Eddie’s heart dropped. “No, no, it’s not that,” he hurried to assure them. He took a step forward to cup their face in his hands again, but then remembered himself and stopped. “I like you no matter what you are, bud. That doesn’t mean anything to me.”

_Then what is it? We sense your discomfort._

“I just…don’t wanna give you hope for something you can’t have.” This was getting really close now. Eddie swallowed hard, forcing himself to maintain eye contact. Venom deserved to know.

_What do you mean? We can’t have you?_

“No, Vee, I—” Rubbing the back of his head, Eddie let a hint of his fondness for them slip through their mind. “You already do.”

Venom’s consciousness lapped up the emotion, pleased. But they still wanted to help, of course they did. _Then what is wrong?_

Eddie fought with himself for another painful moment, before he finally decided fuck it. “I can’t give you sex,” he blurted out.

Venom gave him the most wide-eyed look he’d ever seen, and he could feel his ears turning pink. … _I thought that was how humans communicated lov—desire,_ they said quickly, and Eddie stiffened, sure he’d heard wrong. But Venom pushed on before he could question it: _is that not why you did those activities with Anne?_

“You see that in Anne’s head or mine?” Eddie asked, grimacing.

_Both. We wanted to know what to do._

Okay, that was kinda endearing, in an awkward way. Eddie shook his head at them, smiling a bit despite himself. “That's… I know what you were trying to do, Vee, I do. And I know I’m kinda being confusing now.” He sighed. “You're right, humans do that sometimes for the people they love, and because they like it. But I’m—not like other people. I did that for Anne because I thought that I should. But I don’t think I wanna do that again with…you,” he finished lamely.

Venom watched him, processing this information. _Is this why you did not feel the same things Anne felt for you? During sex?_

“You could feel that?”

_Yes. You loved her, but you did not feel the same way she did in those times._

“Yeah, that’s—that’s why.”

Venom didn’t speak again, thinking. They weren’t letting their thoughts public though and it made Eddie ache. What if they were going to say what he’d thought they’d would, that they weren’t willing to sacrifice that physical closeness? That they didn’t want to be with him like that at all? His stomach lurched. What if they couldn't stand to be bonded anymore after—?

_You are asexual._

Eddie’s lips parted. Out of all of the responses, he hadn’t expected that one. He must have stared at Venom for too long, because they prompted, _you do not feel sexual attraction._

“I…yeah, that’s—that’s me,” he stammered faintly. “Sorry, how’d you know what that was?”

_Well, it’s not a very hard concept, Eddie_ , Venom sniffed matter-of-factly. _If humans can understand it, then so can we._

“A lot of humans don’t understand it. Or like it.”

_Oh. That’s stupid_.

Eddie laughed then. “Yeah, it is.” He was starting to feel light inside, floating. This was more than he could ever have hoped for, acceptance from his literal other half. It almost didn’t matter that perhaps they still couldn’t be together because of it.

Sensing his thoughts, Venom suddenly darted forward to nuzzle at Eddie’s cheek. _We do not care about sex. We thought you would want it, to show how we felt, but now that we know, we do not need it._

Eddie was frozen, even at Venom’s gentle touches. He pulled back to look at them again, throat suddenly tight with hope. “Wait, um. Really?” he asked, touching Venom’s cheek with careful fingertips. “I mean, it might not change. I might never be able to, with you.”

_So_?

It was the simplest thing, but it sent Eddie’s heart ricocheting off his ribs. He managed a lopsided smile. “You sure?”

_Of course I am_! Venom answered, grinning back. _You’re Eddie, my Eddie. That’s all we need. Whatever you want to give, we will take, and we only want what makes you happy, because it makes us happy._

Eddie could’ve cried, in all honesty.

Instead, he took Venom by the jaw and pulled them into a kiss. Delighted, Venom materialized once more, head to waist against Eddie, and kissed him back. There was no pushing this time, no experimental tries for more. They held him close, strong arms wrapped around his waist and a hand splayed between his shoulder blades. It was possessive, and warm, and Eddie reveled in the assurance of being held by something with such power.

“Why did we wait so long for this?” he asked in a breath once they parted.

Venom threw him a playful smirk. _Because you are an idiot._

“Hey!”

_But my idiot_.

And that was enough for them.


End file.
